Data storage cartridges typically comprise a data storage media, such as magnetic tape, which are inserted into a separate data storage drive so that data may be read and/or written on the data storage media. Such cartridges are convenient means of storing large quantities of data which are accessed occasionally. They are particularly useful in automated data storage libraries which can contain large numbers of the cartridges on storage shelves and employ a robot accessor to access a cartridge when needed and deliver the cartridge to a data storage drive.
The typical portable cartridge presently employs a data storage media, such as a length of magnetic tape, which must be open or openable when inserted in a fixed data storage drive to allow the data storage drive to read and/or write data on the media.
An inhibitor to the use of any direct data transfer to portable cartridges, instead of to the media which is stored in the cartridge, has been the problem of the interconnection. Detachable data storage devices are known, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 34,369, or Japanese Patent 7-220464, which employ pluggable connectors. Pluggable connectors typically employ pins and receptacles which wipe against each other as they are plugged and unplugged, thereby cleaning the connectors. However, the wiping action also limits the ability to unplug and replug the connectors, often to 10–15 times, thereby preventing their use for portable cartridges. U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,030 shows that data storage drives may be exchanged, employing low insertion force connectors which require a complex connect/disconnect mechanism. Such connectors are not practical for portable cartridges.